Carole Walter is a master baker who’s written six major cookbooks and taught 25,000 students over 30 dedicated years. She’s known as a “seasoned, creative and accomplished baking and food professional specializing in American and European pies, cakes, cookies, pastries, desserts, and breads.” So…with all that international acclaim, media love and a James Beard award-winning book, what’s she doing hanging around Simmer?

Simple – I’m a fan. Carole’s award-winning 1992 book Great Cakeswas, and still is, my great friend in the kitchen – helpful in culinary school, in our first place, at every Mother’s Day brunch. All her creative-but-practical recipes, full of usefully rich advice, are as vital to me as ever – albeit more folded, spattered and crumbed, as all good recipes should be. Carole graciously agreed to play, and impressed me yet again – for such a prolific author, she provided the most efficient answers seen here yet.

(I knew she was coming, so I baked a cake! Specifically, Carole’s Gingery Pumpkin Cake, from her excellent recipe in Great Cakes. See the recipe – and result – below.)
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1. Position rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Butter a 10-inch angel food cake pan. (You can also bake this in two large loaf pans or a deep 1/2 sheet jelly roll pan, as I did, lined with parchment paper)

3. Put the eggs in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Using the beaters or whip attachment, beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.

4. Add the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, taking 3-4 minutes to blend it in well. Then add the light brown sugar over an additional 3 to 4 minutes, beating until mixture is light in color and thickened. Add the pumpkin puree and beat for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the oil in a steady stream, and beat one minute longer.

5. Reduce mixer speed to low. Blend in the dry ingredients all at once, mixing just until incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a wide rubber spatula, fold in all but 2 tablespoons of the nuts, then the raisins, ginger, and optional cherries.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle top with the reserved 2 tablespoons of nuts. Bake in the preheated oven for 65-70 minutes, until cake begins to leave sides of pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out dry.

7. Remove from the oven and set the pan on a cake rack to cool completely. To remove the cake, run a thin, sharp knife around the sides and center tube. Lift up center tube and run a thin, sharp knife under the cake. Invert the cake onto the rack. Turn top side up and cool completely.

Serves 12 – 16.

Storage: store at room temperature, covered, for up to 5 days. For longer storage, refrigerate up to 10 days.

Note: I baked this cake in a half-sheet pan, which allowed me to cut small squares and top each with cream cheese frosting (find a quick basic version here) and one perfect pecan.

I love Payne’s BBQ. Thoughts of their pulled porked bbq sandwich with spicy coleslaw keep me up some nights. The afternoon of KU’s National Championship game I blogged about Memphis BBQ and Paynes. I saw my love of KU basketball and bbq collide Final Four weekend because we played Carolina and Memphis. Coincidence? I think not. The universe was giving me what I needed.

The folks at Payne’s are so friendly. Kansans are friendly, but it’s very laidback. We’ll ask, “Would you like to try this sandwich?” Southerner’s are in-your-face friendly. They’ll grab you by the arm, and tell you that you need to try this sandwich! They might even feed you. I like my personal space, so at first it made me uncomfortable, but now I’m embracing this approach to food.

Great interview. My wife is the dessert maven in our household, so I might need to purchase one of Carole’s book as a Christmas gift.

Hi Marilyn,
Thank you so much for dropping by my blog and for the kind words. Looks like I passed by just in time. The Gingery Pumpkin Cake looks outstanding! How lucky you are to have such a talented author as a friend. I’ve been to her website before. (I adore when cookbook authors have websites) and with this interview, you have given me a glimpse of goodies. Thank you so much for sharing.

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